Plural alternating siphons.



S. F. MILLER 6: J. W. COX.

PLURAL ALTERNATING SIPHONS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28, 1912.

Patented Apr. 8, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 s. P. MILLER & J. w. 00):.

PLURAL ALTERNATING SIPHONS. APPLIOATIQN FILED JUNE 28, 1912.

Patented Apr. 8, 1913.

MJZ

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL F. MILLER, 01? NEW YORK, N. Y., AND JAMES W. COX, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS,

ASSIGNORS TO PACIFIC FLUSH TANK COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPO-RATION OF ILLINOIS.

PLURAL ALTERNA'IING SIPHONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 8,1913.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, SAMUEL F. MILLER and JAMES WV. Cox, citizens of theUnited States, and residents, respectively, of New York city, in thecounty of New York and State of New York, and of Chicago, in the countyof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Plural Alternating Siphons; and we do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in siphonie apparatus, designedfor controlling the intermittent flow of liquid from a main tank to aplurality of associated tanks or receptacles and so arrangedthat saidtanks or receptacles may be filled or charged in a predeterminedsuccessive or rotative order from the said main tank.

Our improvement is particularly applicable for use in connection withsystems adapted for the septic treatment of sewage, for the filtrationof water, and the like, in which the liquid to be treated is distributedfrom a main tank to a plurality of receptacles, commonly calledcontact-beds and which will be hereinafter referred to as such. It isnecessary to the proper treatment of the liquid that the flow upon asingle contact bed shall be intermittent, that is, a period of time mustelapse between the emptying and charging of a contact bed in order thatthe purifying material (usually a layer of broken stone) may be aeratedor exposed to the atmosphere, in order to oxidize the impuritiesdeposited thereon. Our invention therefore relates to an automaticallycontrolled system of siphons lo cated conveniently between the septictank and the several contact beds, operating in much the same manner asdescribed in the prior U. S. Letters Patent No. 857,355, and embodyingan improved means of controlling the operation of the several siphonsand means whereby one or more contact beds may be put out of and intoservice without disturbing the successive or rotative order of operationof the remaining contact beds.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is a plan view of the main or inlet tankcontaining a plurality of alternating siphons, adapted to control thesupply of liquid to a like number of contact beds, adjacent to andcharged from the main tank; Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the maintank, taken on line 22 of F 1g. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional viewtaken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail crosssection of one ofthe three-way cocks used in connection with the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, the main tank, or what may be termed thedistributing tank, A is adapted to be filled from an eX- ternal sourceby means of the inlet A, located in the wall of said tank, and throughwhich the liquid constantlyflows. The walls and floor of the tank are ofconcrete or similar material adapted to render the same water-tight. Theliquid contents of the tank A are distributed to the several contactbeds by means of automatically operated siphons B B B B B B shown hereinas arranged in two rows of three siphons each, although they may beotherwise disposed. Each siphon controls the supply of liquid to asingle contact bed, and all of said siphons being similar, a descriptionof one will suffice for all, so far as the siphon and its associatedoperating apparatus is concerned.

Referring to the siphon E the same comprises an intake limb 5,consisting of an inverted dome-shaped vessel, properly supported uponthe floor of the tank. Extending upwardly into the said intake limb band terminating near its top is the outlet limb Z). Said outlet limbcommunicates with a deep seal trap having a return limb 6 which emptiesinto a conduit C, which in turn discharges to one of the contact beds.

The conduit C is provided with a vertical vent pipe C open to theatmosphere and extending to the surface of the ground outside of thedistributing tank A. The said deep seal trap and the outlet limb Z) areem bedded in a foundation of concrete. A pipe D, of inverted U-form, hasits longer limb extending through the top of the intake limb b anddownwardly into the outlet limb 7). Its shorter limb projects downwardlyoutside of the said intake limb I). Said pipe D is adapted to vent thesiphon after each of its operations in a manner common to siphons ofthis, type. Located within the tank is a plurality of chambers E E E E Eand E, each one of which is placed adjacent to and associated with oneof the siphons. Said chambers are adapted to be filled by the liquidthat fills the tank and each chamber is provided with means whereby saidchamber may be emptied after each operation of the siphon. This meanscomprises in the case of each chamber a U- shaped pipe F, one limb ofwhich extends downwardly to approximately the floor of the-said chamber,and the other limb of which isconnected with the intake limb Z) of themain siphon at'a point near the floor of the tank. It will be not-icedthat the floors of the" chambers E to E are somewhat below the level ofthe tank in order that the extremity of the limb of the pipe F extendinginto the said chamber may be sealed. at all times. The chamber alsocontains a downwardly opening dome-shaped vessel or starting bell G,connected with the lower end% ofa vertical air pressure transmittingpipe I. Said starting bell is adapted to communicate with a blow-cit, orW- trap, H (Fig. 3), by means of said pipe I, a main pressuretransmitting pipe K, hereinafter more fully described, and a horizontalair pressure transmitting pipe I. This type of blow-off or W-trap (Fig.3), with which each of the siphons B to B, inclusive, is provided,comprises an upward opening vertical limb h extending upwardly into theintake limb b of the si phon and an outer vertical limb 7& open to the.atmosphere and extending above the maximum water level, as shown. Saidvertical limb 72, is also provided with an L- shapedidrainage pipe I?(Fig. 2), by which said'limb communicates with the discharge limb b ofthe mainsiphon. A third vertical limb h ofthe blow-off trap is connectedwith the air pressure transmitting pipe I. The lower extremities of thethree vertical limbs 72., h and 7?, are connected at their lower ends bya horizontal pipe H (Fig. 3).

Referring again to the chambers E to E, the startingbellsGr containedtherein and the vertical pipes I, with which each of the siphons areequipped, a normally open valve or single-way cock J (Fig. 2) is placedin each of the said vertical pipes I at a point adjacent to its upperextremit and above the maximum water level in the main tank, such valvebeing manually operable and so placed as to be easily accessible to theoperator. Said Vertical pipes I communicate with the main pressuretransmitting pipe K (Fig. 1), which is arranged horizontally and isshown herein as having the form of a rectangular loop. Said pipe K islocated above the maximum water level in the tank A. Branching outwardlyfrom the said main pipe line K are the horizontal air-pressuretransmitting pipes I, I, hereinbefore mentioned. Each of said pipes Icommunicates with the limb 71. of the blowoff orW-trap H of one of themain siphons. At the junctions of the pipes I with the main pipe K areprovided threeway cocks, L L L, L, L and L, (Figs. 1 and 4t). Said cocksare normally in such position that the air pressure of any starting bellG will be transmitted through the medium of the air pressuretransmitting pipes only to the blow-0H H of the main siphon next inadvance (considered with respect to the rotative order of operation ofthe siphons) of the main siphon withwhich such starting bell isassociated.

The operation of the siphonic apparatus thus described may be brieflystated as follows: The deep seal trap and the blow-oli' or W-traps arefilled with the liquid prior to the filling of the tank A, and likewiseall of the chambers E to E are filled, with the exception of one. Let itbe assumed that the chambers E to E are filled and that chamber Eremains empty. Let it also be assumed that all of the valves J are openand the three-way cocks L to L so arranged that chamber E operates thesiphon B chamber E operates siphon B and so on, throughout the cycle ofoperations, until finally chamber E operates the siphon B thus beginninga new cycle. By adjusting the several three-way cocks L to L", asdescribed, it is evident the order of operation will be a rotative onein a clockwise direction, as the system appears in Fig. 1.

To give a better understanding of the operation of the device, it may bestated that the use of the several valves described and the pipe line K,is adapted to give flexibility to the system, as well as to providemeans for cutting out one or more siphons without disturbing therotative operation of the remaining siphons. Since this phase of theoperation of the apparatus is to be hereinafter taken up more fully, oneof the pipes I, together with one of the pipes I, and the part of thepipe line K, connecting or joining them, may be here considered asseparate and independent pipes, adapted to transmit air pressure from astarting bell G to the blow-off trap II operating the siphon next to bebrought into operation, that is to say, a pipe leading from the startingbell G in chamber E to siphon B from the starting bell in chamber E tosiphon B, and so on.

Taking into consideration the above assumptions and noting that all ofthe chainbers E to E are filled with the liquid with the exception of E,the apparatus operates as follows: The liquid is allowed to flow intothe tank A through the inlet A and if the tank has been filled to thelevel of the tops of the several chambers E to E, the liquid overflowsinto and fills the empty chamber E During the filling of the saidchamber and the continued rise of the liquid in the tank, the liquidrises in the lower end of the starting bell G therein, thus displacingthe air and causing air pressure to be transmitted through its pipe I tothe blow-oft trap H of the siphon B in this instance the one next to bebrought into operation. By reason of the fact that all of the chamberssave chamber E and the starting bells therein, are already filled withliquid, little pressure is transmitted through the pipes I, associatedwith the filled chambers, as the liquid rises above said chambers.During the filling of the empty chamber, however, the air in its bell isimprisoned so that the liquid head exerted on the air in the lastmentioned starting bell and its pressure transmitting pipe is superiorto that exerted on the air in the other transmitting pipe and in themain siphons. Therefore, the main siphons associated with the bellwithin the chamber last filled is brought into action. During the timethe siphon B is operating to empty the tank the chamber E associatedtherewith is emptied through the connecting Siphon F to a level belowthe sealing level of the starting bell therein. After the tank is thusemptied, the chambers E to E remain filled while the chamber E is empty.During the next filling of the tank the flow of the liquid into saidchamber E operates through the starting bell G and the pipe I connectedwith the blow-off trap of the siphon B to bring the latter intooperation to empty the tank. This rotative order of operation of thesiphons is continued throughout the series of siphons so long as theoperation of the apparatus continues.

The operation of the blow-off or W-trap H and the emptying siphons F ofthe chambers E to E, which are fully described in the prior U. S.Letters Patent to Miller, No. 727,991, may be briefly described asfollows: The air pressure in the bell G of one of the chambers E to Ebeing transmitted to the blow-off trap H, forces the water with which itis sealed, from the same either through the limb if or [2/ By so doingthe siphon is vented-and immediately put into operation. At the sametime the liquid is drawn from said chamber through the siphon F to theapproximate level of the tank floor, there still remaining suificientliquid in the said chamber to always seal the extremity of pipe F. It isfor this purpose that the floor of the chamber is somewhat lower thanthat of the tank. During the discharge of the liquid by means of thesiphon, the blowotf trap H is again filled from the siphon through thepipe it. Thus the bell G is vented and the blow-off trap refilled aftereach operation of the siphon and the same will be in readiness toperform its function at the time of the next operation of the siphonwith which it is associated.

It is frequently necessary in the operation of the siphonic apparatusthat one or more of the contact beds be cut out of service for repairsor other reasons, as is often the case in sewage purification systems,in which the purifying material in the contact beds must be renewed orone or more of the siphons repaired. This must be done withoutdist-urbing the rotative operation of the system, and to do so, it isnecessary to short-circuit, so to speak, the particular siphon orsiphons to be thrown out of operation. It is for this purpose that thecut-off valves J, the three-way valves L to L and the common airpressure transmitting pipe K are provided. Referring then to theapparatus as described above, a siphon may be cut out or short circuitedas follows: Assuming that it is desired to cut out of service the siphonB the valve J located in the vertical air pressure transmitting pipe I,communicating with the bell G of the associated chamber E and whichwould be normally open, is closed. The siphon next in advance of B inthis instance B is normally operated by the air pressure transmittedfrom the starting bell G of the chamber E and likewise the siphon Babout to be cut out of service, is normally operated by the air pressuretransmitted from the starting bell G of the chamber E It is thereforeonly necessary to direct the air pressure from the siphon B to siphon BThis is accomplished by means of the three-way valve L which is turnedso that the air pressure is transmitted in a direct line through thevalve and at the same time out 01f from entering the horizontal pipe Ileading to the blow-off trap H of the siphon B now no longer operative,whereby its action is transferred to operate siphon B now the next inline of operation. Similarly, any other siphon or siphons may be cut outof service, and furthermore, the direction of rotation of operation ofthe apparatus may be entirely reversed by the proper manipulation of thevalves L to L".

It will be noticed that in this construc tion all of the valves arelocatedabove the maximum level of the liquid in the tank, thus makingthem easily accessible to the attendant, and furthermore, they remainfree from the deposits of refuse matter that would collect on them werethey placed in a position to be immersed in or covered by such liquid.This would be particularly true in instances where this apparatus isused in connection with a sewage purifica-. tion system.

The advantages of a siphonic apparatus, as have been pointed out above,are chiefly, the flexibility of its mode of operation, the ease withwhich a siphonor siphons may be cut out of the operating series, and theaccessibility of'the controlling valves.

We do not desire that the invention be limited to the particularconstruction, arrangement and details of the siphons shown herein,inasmuch as an apparatus of this type may be variously changed ormodified in construction without departure from the spirit of theinvention. For this same reason wedo not wishto limit the application ofthe invention to any particular use, as it may be employed in connectionwith any system in which the distribution of a liquid is automaticallycontrolled by atmospheric and-hydrostatic pressure.

We claim as our invention 1. As a means for emptyinga liquid tank thecombination of a plurality of deep seal siphons, each provided with ablow-off trap adapted to start the siphon, a-chamber associated witheachof said siphons, and adapted'to be filled by the liquid supplied to thetank, means by which each of said chambers may be emptied by the actionof its associated siphon, means contained'in each chamber whereby an airpressure may be created by the rise of the liquid in said chamber, andmeans whereby said air pressure may be transmitted to the blow-oft" trapoperas ing either of the other siphons.

2. As a means for emptying a liquid tank the combination of a pluralityof deep sea-l siphons provided with blow-ofi" traps, a plurality ofchambers, each of said chambers be ing associated with one of saidsiphons, a plurality of starting bells severally located in saidchambers, and provided with air pressure transmitting pipes adapted totransmit air pressure to the blow-ofi' trap associated with an adjacentsiphon, and a plurality'of'constantly sealed emptying siphons, eachcommunicating between one of said chambers and its associated mainsiphon, and adapted to empty the said chamber during the act-ion of saidassociated si hon.

3. As a means for emptying a liquid tank, the combination of a pluralityof deep seal siphons, each of which is provided with a blow-off trapadapted to start the siphon with which it is associated and providedwith air pressure transmitting pipe leading thereto, a plurality ofchambers each of which-is associated with one of said siphons andprovided with means communicating with its associated siphon and adaptedto empty the chamber by the action of the said siphon, a startingbell ineach of said chambers having an air pressure transmitting pipe leadingtherefrom, a main air trans mitting pipe, with which communicate all ofsaid air pressure transmitting pipes lead- Zing to said blow-off trapsand from said starting bells, and valves in said air pres-- of deep sealsiphons, each of which is provided with a blow-off trap, having an airpressure transmitting pipe leading thereto,

a plurality of chambers adapted to be'filled with the liquid supplied tothe tank, each one of which is associated with one of said siphons andprovided with means adapted to empty the chamber by the action of itsassociated siphon, starting bells located severallyin said chambers,each having an air pressure transmitting pipe leading therefrom, acut-off valve located in each of said last named air pressuretransmitting pipes, a main air pressure transmitting pipe with whichcommunicate the air pressure transmittingpipes leading to said blow-cittraps and'trom said starting bells, and a plurality of tliree-way valveslocated at the junctions of said main transmission pipe with saidtransmission pipes leading to the blow-off traps.

5. As a means for emptying a liquid tank or receptacle, the combinationof a plurality of deep seal siphons, blow-ofi' traps adapted to startsaid siphons and provided with air pressure transmitting pipes leadingthereto, a plurality of chambers adapted to be filled with the liquidsupplied to the tank, each one of which communicates with one only ofthe said siphons by means of an emptying siphon, starting bellscontained severally in said chambers and provided with air pressuretransmitting pipes leading therefrom, cut-oltvalves in said air pressuretransmitting pipes leading from said starting bells and located abovethe maximum liquid level. in said tank, a main air pressure transmittingpipe with which communicate the air pressure transmitting pipes leadingto said blow-ofttraps and from said starting bells, and aplurality ofthree-way valves located at the junctions of said main pipe with saidpipes leading to said blow-oil traps, said three-way valves beinglocated above the maximum liquid level in the said tank.

6. As a means for emptying a liquid tank or receptacle, the-combinationof a plurality of deep seal siphons, a blow-oi? trap associated witheach of said siphons and provided with air pressure transmitting pipesleading thereto, a plurality of chambers adapted to be filled by theliquid supplied to the tank, each one of which communicates with oneof'the said siphons by means of an emptying'siphon, whereby the saidchamber may be emptied only by the action of its associated siphon,starting bells located severally in said chambers, and each providedwith an air pressure transmitting pipe leadin upwardly therefrom, acut-off valve in eadli of said pipes, located above the maximum liquidlevel in the tank, a main air pressure transmitting pipe arrangedhorizontally above the maximum water level in the tank, and with whichcommunicate the said air pressure transmitting pipes leading to saidblow-off traps and from said starting bells, and a plurality ofthree-Way valves located at the junctions with the said main airpressure transmitting pipe of the pressure transmission pipes leading tosaid blowoff traps.

In testimony, that we claim the foregoing as our invention and afiix oursignatures in the presence of two witnesses, this 24th day of June, A.D. 1912, and 25th day of June A. D. 1912, respectively.

SAMUEL F. MILLER. JAMES W. COX. Witnesses to the signature of Samuel F.Miller:

RUSSELL BUNoE, E. M. FLUGGE. OWitnesses to the signature of James W.

CHARLES H. PooLE, EUGENE C. WARNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

